Flashlight holder glove

ABSTRACT

A glove permits a flashlight to be removably attached so that when a flashlight is secured to the glove its direction of illumination is in alignment with the direction of fire of a handgun held in a second hand of the user steadied by the first hand.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/213095, filed Dec. 10, 1998, which is pending, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14,307 filed Jan. 27, 1998, which issued on Dec. 15, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,834, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 713,217 filed Sep. 12, 1996 which is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,623.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to flashlight holders for use with flashlights, which permit the user to control the flashlight while handling another item such as a firearm. The invention also relates to duty gloves such as the type worn by security and law enforcement professionals when on patrol, and more particularly, to a glove incorporating an illumination system for projecting light towards the patrol area being examined or searched.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The present inventor's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,623 and 5,848,834 disclose flashlight holders that position various models of flashlights in such a manner as to free the hand operating the light to perform other tasks such as supporting the gun hand. These work well, however, the holders do not allow complete range of motion of the hand and are not ideal for maintaining the light on the hand for long periods of time such as an entire shift.

[0004] Numerous gloves exist for security and law enforcement personnel that aid in the gripping of equipment or providing warmth. Also, various types of flashlights exist to aid these personnel to improve their vision in dark search areas. However, once the flashlight is drawn from its holster, one of the officer's hands will be occupied by it. Since these flashlights generally do not include any means for remaining attached to the hand, the officer must re-holster the light each time both hands are needed to perform tasks such as detaining or handcuffing a suspect, climbing a fence, etc. Therefore, a need exists for a glove-mounted illumination system that will position a light on the back of the hand enabling the hand to operate normally while providing an instant source of illumination for the officer.

[0005] Prior patents disclose various methods of attaching illumination devices to the fingers of the hand either with or without gloves. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,601,356; 5,535,105; 5,124,892; 5,086,378; 4,625,339; 4,422,131; 3,811,684 and 3,638,011 These have various specific uses in such fields as the medical field, nighttime aviation, golf, railroads, service stations and other applications. However, the position and size of the lights do not accommodate the needs of law enforcement officers while aiming a firearm.

[0006] Accordingly, there remains a need for a glove mounted illumination system specifically positioned and spaced in order to align with the aim of the officer's handgun while his support hand, wearing said glove, is supporting his gun hand. Also, because of the danger of a light becoming a target for a criminal, there remains a further need for a glove mounted illumination system that will enable an officer to easily, instantly and instinctively activate or deactivate the light.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention therefore provides a flashlight holder comprising a glove for removably receiving a first hand of a user, and means attached to the glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight having a direction of illumination, and whereby when a flashlight is secured to the glove its direction of illumination is in alignment with the direction of fire of a handgun held in a second hand of the user steadied by the first hand. The means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight is preferably attached to the back of the glove. According to one aspect of the invention, the flashlight holder has an on/off switch adapted to be electrically connected to the flashlight and mounted on the top of the index finger of the glove.

[0008] According to one aspect of the invention, an adjustable spacer is included between the head of the light and glove. The spacer is necessary because the hand wearing the above mentioned glove must bend at approximately forty-five degrees in order to support the gun hand. This causes the back of the hand to also bend slightly, and without the spacer, the light would be pulled out of alignment with the aim of the handgun in the other hand.

[0009] In another embodiment, the light's housing is securely attached to the back of the glove with the use of clamps connected by a flat bar backbone. Also, this embodiment incorporates a spacer by the head of light that is adjustable by the turning of a bolt.

[0010] In yet another embodiment, the flashlight's housing is slidably attached to a collar which is secured to the glove by a flexible band.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In drawings which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the glove mounted illumination system of the invention as worn by a user.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a top view of the glove mounted illumination system shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the attachment position of the light and the remotely activating pressure pad.

[0014]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the glove mounted illumination system of the invention with the light housing attached with the use of clamps.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a top view of of the glove mounted illumination system shown in FIG. 3 showing the clamping system and adjustable spacing system of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 5 shows a flashlight holder as illustrated in FIG. 13 of application Ser. No. 14,307 filed Jan. 27, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,834 which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0017]FIG. 6 shows a flashlight holder as shown in FIG. 5 modified according to the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 7 shows a flashlight holder as shown in FIG. 6 attached to a glove according to the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 8 shows a glove mounted illumination system according to the present invention working in coordination with the officer's other hand, which is holding a sidearm.

[0020] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the accompanying drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Referring to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a glove 1, worn on the hand 30 of a user, with a flashlight 2 attached to glove 1 with flexible material 3 so that the flashlight lies against the back 33 of the user's hand 30. Flexible material 3 may be a sleeve of stretchable material secured to glove 1 by stitching, or removably secured by hook and loop fasteners or the like. The pressure pad switch 4 attached to the flashlight 2 by electrically conductive cable 5 can be seen attached to the top of the index finger of glove 1 by a strip of flexible material 6 (which is removed in FIG. 2 to illustrate pad 4). Cable 5 is connected to flashlight 2 so that pressing pad 4 causes the flashlight 2 to be turned on or off. As illustrated in FIG. 2, glove 1 incorporates a flexible spacer 7, which may be formed of metal wire, plastic or similar flexible material attached to glove 1 to be positioned between glove 1 and the head 32 of flashlight 2 in order to keep the direction of illumination of flashlight 2 in alignment with the direction of fire of a handgun held in the opposite hand and steadied by hand 30, or alternatively if held by hand 30. Typically this will be accomplished by having the flashlight mounted on the back of the glove positioned to align between the straightened middle and index fingers of the hand wearing the glove and flexible spacer 7 attached to the back of the glove will provide an inclination angle in the range of 5 to 45 degrees, and preferably about 15 degrees.

[0022]FIG. 3 shows flashlight 8 attached to glove 9 with the use of clamps 10. As seen in FIG. 4, clamps 10 are held together by a flat bar backbone 11 which contains a spacer piece 12 adjustable by bolt 13. Spacer piece 12 is adjusted in order to keep the direction of illumination of flashlight 2 in alignment with the direction of fire of a handgun held in the opposite hand and steadied by hand 30, or alternatively if held by hand 30. The advantage of this embodiment is that the entire flashlight 2 can be readily removed and replaced. Also, the housing of the flashlight 2 can be replaced without removing the end cap 34 of the flashlight 2, which can remain clamped by the rear clamp 35. This can be useful if a universal end cap can be employed which will accommodate different types and models of flashlights.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 5 there is illustrated the flashlight holder 34 as illustrated in FIG. 13 of application Ser. No. 14,307 filed Jan. 27, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,834 which is incorporated herein by reference. Flashlight holder 34 includes collar 35, with flashlight 36 attached, coupled to handle 37 having a band like shape so as to encircle or partially encircle a portion of the user's hand

[0024] As shown in FIG. 6 and 7, the flashlight holder of FIG. 5 can be modified to incorporate a gloved connection to the user's hand 30 to improve its usefulness. Flashlight holder 14 includes collar 15, with flashlight 16 attached, coupled to handle 17 having a band like shape so as to encircle or partially encircle a portion of the user's hand. The said collar is releasably and pivotally connected proximate the top of the index finger. This enables the thumb of same hand to control and activate the light without the use of pressure pads. Handle 17 contains small holes 18 near its edges and larger ones 19 in the center so that the handle 17 can be sewn and riveted over or inside a glove. This is illustrated in FIG. 7 where handle 17 is sewn over glove 20, which is worn on user's hand 30 to hold flashlight 16 while holding and aiming a firearm. The advantages gained by the marriage of this flashlight holder and glove include increased stability and range of motion of the hand while wearing the holder and glove.

[0025]FIG. 8 illustrates flashlight 21 attached to glove 22 worn on the hand 30 of a user who is activating light 21 by pressing pressure pad 23 with his thumb 31. FIG. 8 also illustrates the light 21 in alignment with the aim of the user's handgun 24 in the opposite hand 25 of same user.

[0026] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A flashlight holder comprising a glove for removably receiving a first hand of a user, and means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight having a direction of illumination, and whereby when a flashlight is secured to said glove its direction of illumination is in alignment with the direction of fire of a handgun held in a second hand of said user steadied by said first hand.
 2. A flashlight holder according to claim 1 wherein said glove has a palm side and an opposed back and said means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight is attached to the back of said glove.
 3. A flashlight holder according to claim 2 wherein said means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight is attached to the back of said glove thereby to align said flashlight between the straightened middle and index fingers of the hand wearing said glove.
 4. A flashlight holder according to claim 1 wherein said glove has an index finger and said flashlight holder has an on/off switch adapted to be electrically connected to said flashlight mounted on the top of the index finger of said glove.
 5. A flashlight holder according to claim 4 wherein said on/off switch comprises a remotely activating pressure pad.
 6. A flashlight holder according to claim 5 wherein said remotely activating pressure pad is attached proximate the top of the index finger of said glove.
 7. A flashlight holder according to claim 1 wherein said means for attaching a flashlight comprises a flexible sleeve.
 8. A flashlight holder according to claim 1 wherein said means for attaching a flashlight comprises adjustable clamps connected by an elongated base member.
 9. A flashlight holder according to claim 8 wherein said adjustable clamps are connected by an elongated base member.
 10. A flashlight holder according to claim 9 wherein said elongated base member comprises an adjustable spacer.
 11. A flashlight holder according to claim 1 comprising a spacer positioned between said glove and said flashlight when said flashlight is secured to said glove.
 12. A flashlight holder according to claim 2 wherein said means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight is adapted to secure said flashlight to the back of said glove at an inclination angle in the range of 5 to 45 degrees.
 13. A flashlight holder according to claim 2 wherein said means attached to said glove for removably securing thereto a flashlight is adapted to secure said flashlight to the back of said glove at an inclination angle of about 15 degrees.
 14. A flashlight holder according to claim 2 comprising a collar operative to slidably attach to a flashlight wherein said collar is coupled to a band-like body flexibly secured to the back of said glove.
 15. A flashlight holder according to claim 14 wherein said collar extends from an outer surface of said band-like body so as to be positioned proximately against the back of the user's hand when said glove is worn by a user.
 16. A flashlight holder according to claim 13 wherein said band-like body is secured to said glove by stitching and/or riveting. 